Format

Characters

Field length

10

Priority

• Optional (SMR only)
• Mandatory (A&E only)

Main source of standard

Scottish Government

Definition

The Community Health Index (CHI) is a population register, which is used in Scotland for health care purposes. The CHI number uniquely identifies a person on the index.

Points to note

1. Where the CHI is used as the Health Record Identifier (Case Reference Number), please continue to record this number in both the HRI and CHI fields.

Cross checks

None

Further information

The Community Health Index is a register of all patients in NHSScotland.

CHI Index contains details of all Scottish residents and exists to ensure that patients can be correctly identified, and that relevant information pertaining to a patients health is available to providers of care.

The CHI number is a unique is a 10-character numeric identifier, allocated to each patient on first registration with the system.

The CHI number should always be used to identify a patient. However, health record identifiers, such as hospital numbers in Patient Administration Systems (PAS), may be used locally, in conjunction with the CHI number or in the absence of the CHI number, to track patients and their records.

Although there may be no number when a patient presents for treatment, there must be an allocation at some point in the episode of care as CHI is mandatory on all clinical communications.

Non-Scottish patients and other temporary residents can have a CHI number allocated if required.

Should it be required patients can contact their GP surgery in the first instance for their individual CHI Number.

SMR validation

Read about SMR validation.